CDNS
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
CDNS has the edge over INTC overall, supported by lower modeled downside and stronger valuation.
INTC
Intel Corporation
INTC's outlook is improving, though it still trails on the overall score.
CDNS Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Strong | |
| Strong | |
| Healthy |
CDNS's revenue, profitability, cash flow and balance sheet are all currently healthy.
INTC Fundamentals
| Metric | Status |
|---|---|
| Healthy | |
| Under pressure | |
| Healthy | |
| Healthy |
INTC's revenue, cash flow and balance sheet are currently healthy, but its profitability is under pressure.
CDNS PE Valuation
| Level | PE | Price | Vs current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forward | 35x | $333 | — |
| Cheap | 47x | $238 | -29% |
| Current | 66x | $333 | — |
| Fair | 67x | $337 | +1.2% |
| Expensive | 80x | $403 | +21% |
Historical ranges are pointers, not guarantees.
CDNS's PE is in its fair range at 66x. If earnings grow as analysts expect, today's price would be 35x next year's earnings, in its cheap range.
INTC PE Valuation
INTC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CDNS Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| Strongly improving | |
| Growth | |
| Growth | |
| Improving | |
| Moderate | |
| Moderate |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for CDNS, with profitability improving.
INTC Forward outlook
| Metric | Outlook |
|---|---|
| -- | |
| Strong growth | |
| Growth | |
| Strongly improving | |
| Broad | |
| Low |
Analysts expect earnings and revenue growth for INTC, with profitability improving. However, they disagree widely on these estimates.
CDNS Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $9.42 | +87% |
| Q3 2026 | $5.03 | +30% |
| Q2 2026 | $5.03 | +36% |
| Q1 2026 | $4.29 | +8.9% |
| Q4 2025 | $4.06 | +5.5% |
| Q3 2025 | $3.87 | +1.6% |
| Q2 2025 | $3.69 | -4.7% |
| Q1 2025 | $3.94 | +2.6% |
| Q4 2024 | $3.85 | +0.8% |
CDNS has the edge over INTC on earnings quality, reporting a profit while its opponent remains loss making.
INTC Earnings Per Share
| Quarter | TTM EPS | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Forward | $1.41 | — |
| Q3 2026 | -$2.39 | -24000% |
| Q2 2026 | -$2.09 | +$2.68 |
| Q1 2026 | -$0.60 | +$3.88 |
| Q4 2025 | -$0.06 | +$4.32 |
| Q3 2025 | $0.01 | +$3.72 |
| Q2 2025 | -$4.77 | -2088% |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.48 | -562% |
| Q4 2024 | -$4.38 | -1195% |
INTC has swung to a loss: it lost $2.39 per share over the past year, after a profit the year before.
CDNS Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.6B | +22% |
| Q2 2026 | $1.6B | +24% |
| Q1 2026 | $1.5B | +19% |
| Q4 2025 | $1.4B | +6.2% |
| Q3 2025 | $1.3B | +10% |
| Q2 2025 | $1.3B | +20% |
| Q1 2025 | $1.2B | +23% |
| Q4 2024 | $1.4B | +27% |
CDNS has the edge over INTC on sales, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 26% | -5.5 points |
| Q2 2026 | 28% | +9.5 points |
| Q1 2026 | 29% | +0.2 points |
| Q4 2025 | 32% | -1.5 points |
| Q3 2025 | 32% | +3 points |
| Q2 2025 | 19% | -8.8 points |
| Q1 2025 | 29% | +4.3 points |
| Q4 2024 | 34% | +2.2 points |
CDNS has the edge over INTC on profitability, with a higher operating margin.
INTC Quarterly Revenue
| Quarter | Revenue | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $16.5B | +21% |
| Q2 2026 | $16.1B | +25% |
| Q1 2026 | $13.6B | +7.2% |
| Q4 2025 | $13.7B | -4.1% |
| Q3 2025 | $13.7B | +2.8% |
| Q2 2025 | $12.9B | +0.2% |
| Q1 2025 | $12.7B | -0.4% |
| Q4 2024 | $14.3B | -7.4% |
INTC's revenue is recovering but still below its 2021 peak: $16.5B last quarter, up 21% from the same quarter a year ago.
| Quarter | Margin | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 15% | +10 points |
| Q2 2026 | 11% | +36 points |
| Q1 2026 | -23% | -21 points |
| Q4 2025 | 4.2% | +1.4 points |
| Q3 2025 | 5% | +73 points |
| Q2 2025 | -25% | -9.4 points |
| Q1 2025 | -2.4% | +6 points |
| Q4 2024 | 2.9% | -14 points |
INTC's operating margin was 15% last quarter, up 10 points from the same quarter a year ago.
CDNS Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $361.9M | +31% |
| Q2 2026 | $582.3M | +75% |
| Q1 2026 | $307M | -34% |
| Q4 2025 | $512.5M | +27% |
| Q3 2025 | $277M | -28% |
| Q2 2025 | $333.5M | +163% |
| Q1 2025 | $464M | +128% |
| Q4 2024 | $404.2M | +70% |
CDNS's free cash flow has been positive every quarter for seven years: $1.8B over the past year, up 19% from the year before.
INTC Free Cash Flow
| Quarter | Free cash flow | YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $1.1B | +774% |
| Q2 2026 | $4.5B | +$6B |
| Q1 2026 | -$2.5B | +$1.8B |
| Q4 2025 | $800M | +$3.5B |
| Q3 2025 | $121M | +$2.5B |
| Q2 2025 | -$1.5B | +$1.9B |
| Q1 2025 | -$4.4B | +$2.8B |
| Q4 2024 | -$2.7B | -$597M |
INTC has the edge over CDNS on cash flow, with more consistent year-over-year improvement.
CDNS Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | -0.3% | -885K shares |
| 1 year | +0.5% | +1.5M shares |
| 3 years | +1% | +2.9M shares |
| 5 years | -1.1% | -3M shares |
| Available history | -1.9% | -5.2M shares |
CDNS has the edge over INTC on shareholder dilution, with a more favorable share count trend.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $400M |
| Q2 2026 | $200M |
| Q1 2026 | $200M |
| Q4 2025 | $200M |
| Q3 2025 | $200M |
| Q2 2025 | $175M |
| Q1 2025 | $350M |
| Q4 2024 | $150M |
CDNS spent $1B buying back its own shares over the past year, up 14% from the year before.
INTC Total Shares
| Period | Change % | Net change |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly | +4% | +203M shares |
| 1 year | +17% | +776M shares |
| 3 years | +25% | +1.1B shares |
| 5 years | +30% | +1.2B shares |
| Available history | +19% | +834M shares |
INTC has 5.3B diluted shares, up 17% from a year ago.
| Quarter | Spent |
|---|---|
| Q4 2022 | — |
| Q3 2022 | — |
| Q2 2022 | — |
| Q1 2022 | — |
| Q4 2021 | — |
| Q3 2021 | — |
| Q2 2021 | $114M |
| Q1 2021 | $2.3B |
CDNS Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 0.5x | Very low |
| Q2 2026 | -0.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2026 | -0.5x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2025 | -1.8x | Net Cash |
| Q3 2025 | -1.6x | Net Cash |
| Q2 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q1 2025 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
| Q4 2024 | -1.7x | Net Cash |
CDNS has the edge over INTC on leverage, with a lower net debt burden relative to earnings.
INTC Net Leverage
| Quarter | Net Leverage | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | 2.0x | Healthy |
| Q2 2026 | 3.1x | Elevated |
| Q1 2026 | 3.9x | Elevated |
| Q4 2025 | 3.4x | Elevated |
| Q3 2025 | 4.0x | Elevated |
| Q1 2025 | 69.6x | High |
| Q3 2024 | 23.8x | High |
| Q2 2024 | 4.3x | High |
INTC's net debt is about 2.0 years of its operating earnings (EBITDA), down from 4.0 years a year ago.
CDNS Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 51.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 60.8 | Neutral |
CDNS's weekly RSI is 51 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 61 (neutral).
INTC Weekly Momentum
| Metric | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| RSI | 38.1 | Neutral |
| Stochastic | 7.7 | Oversold |
INTC's weekly RSI is 38 (neutral) and its Stochastic is 8 (oversold).
CDNS PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | CDNS | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | 66x | 28x | 138% above |
| PE % | 46 | 35 | 11 pts above |
CDNS is trading at 66x earnings, a 138% premium to the Technology sector's median of 28x.
INTC PE vs Technology Sector
| Metric | INTC | Sector median | Relative |
|---|---|---|---|
| PE | N/A | 28x | — |
INTC has no meaningful PE right now: it lost money over the past year.
CDNS Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $330.9 | 0.7% above |
| 20 week MA | $329.5 | 1.2% above |
| 50 week MA | $325.8 | 2.3% above |
| 100 week MA | $317.2 | 5.1% above |
| 200 week MA | $287.9 | 16% above |
CDNS has the edge over INTC on trend strength, trading above more of its moving averages.
INTC Weekly Moving Averages
| Moving average | MA price | Relative |
|---|---|---|
| 8 week MA | $88.4 | 31% below |
| 20 week MA | $95.3 | 36% below |
| 50 week MA | $79.3 | 23% below |
| 100 week MA | $52.1 | 18% above |
| 200 week MA | $42.5 | 44% above |
INTC has pulled back, but its long-term trend is still up: it's below its 8-, 20- and 50-week averages, but 44% above its 200-week average.
CDNS Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $70.3 | $134.0 | +91% |
| 2021 | $134.0 | $187.5 | +40% |
| 2022 | $187.5 | $161.5 | -14% |
| 2023 | $161.5 | $272.4 | +69% |
| 2024 | $272.4 | $305.0 | +12% |
| 2025 | $305.0 | $318.9 | +4.5% |
| 2026 YTD | $318.9 | $333.3 | +4.5% |
CDNS has finished higher in five of the last six years, two of them by more than 50%. It's up 4.5% so far in 2026.
INTC Yearly ROI
| Year | Start price | End price | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | $60.1 | $47.1 | -22% |
| 2021 | $47.1 | $51.3 | +9% |
| 2022 | $51.3 | $26.1 | -49% |
| 2023 | $26.1 | $50.3 | +93% |
| 2024 | $50.3 | $20.3 | -60% |
| 2025 | $20.3 | $36.2 | +78% |
| 2026 YTD | $36.2 | $61.2 | +69% |
INTC has the edge over CDNS on returns for 2026, with the stronger performance.